Health care is one of those things that always caused Sandra Schlosser a lot of anxiety. “It was something I had always struggled with — I always owed some health care provider, or was on some payment plan, or had some struggle about a claim, or had high deductibles,” the 52-year-old Vermont resident recounted. “It had never even occurred to me that it could be something that could be changed or that there could be hope for a better system.”

But five years ago, when Schlosser got involved with the Vermont Workers’ Center, her eyes were opened to a different kind of worldview. The grassroots social justice network was mobilizing support to reform the health insurance model in the state, and they were asking people like Sandra to share their stories about why the current system wasn’t working. All of a sudden, she was part of a movement of people insisting that health care is a human right. She was connecting with other Vermont residents who had similar frustrations with their own medical debt and lack of affordable insurance options, and who were taking to the streets to fight for universal coverage.